Georges and Dahlstrom Remain on Top; Oslo Stays Perfect on Day 2
We’ve got a race on our hands in the men’s division at Strength in Depth; the top five are only separated by 34 points, and the gap from fifth to ninth is only 31.
- Day one leader Willy Georges had his worst finish (11th) on event 4, which allowed him to maintain the overall lead, but now it’s only by eight points.
- Henrik Haaplainen displayed some veteran savvy on “Curiosity Shop” as he hung back in the first half of the down and back chipper, and then picked people off steadily on the back half taking fourth on the event and moving into second overall.
- Another Games veteran holding steady on day two and moving up from fourth to third is Giorgos Karavis. Karavis like all the other men, has been a bit up and down in his placements and finds himself right in the thick of the battle–eight points behind second, and eight points ahead of fourth.
- Speaking of fourth, that’s where we find the only would-be rookie on the men’s side that is currently in a qualifying spot. Few will know Frenchman Guillaume Briant, but the third place finishes he’s had on events two and four are very much in line with the performances he’s been pumping out in online competitions the last couple of years, culminating in a 9th place finish in Europe during this year’s Quarterfinals. There are plenty of men breathing down his neck, but so far so good for Briant.
- For more on Andre Houdet’s impressive day two and climb from heat two into a Games qualifying positions go here.
Spots six through ten in the men’s field feature four athletes seeking to make the Games for their first time this year. The other man in that group is seven-time CrossFit Games athlete Jonne Koski. He actually slipped back one spot into 8th and is 26 points behind Houdet for the five spot. He will have his work cut out for him tomorrow if he wants to make it number eight this year.
Women
It was a day of ups and downs for many women in London. The five lifters in the qualifying positions in the Barbell Complex took 15th, 14th, 20th, 13th, and 16th in event four. In the meantime the top three finishers on event four placed outside the top ten on the lift. In terms of the leaderboard that means that just like in the men’s field, things are tightening up.
At the end of day one Emma McQuaid, Jacqueline Dahlstrom, and Thuri Helgadottir were all tied on points. At the end of day two they remain the top three women, but a little separation has been created.
- Dahlstrom and McQuaid put some distance between themselves and Helgadottir on the Barbell Complex. They each lifted 213 pounds and tied for fourth in the event. Helgadottir placed 14th and gave away 38 points to both of them.
- Helgadottir punched back with an event win on workout four, but with Dahlstrom and McQuaid taking fourth and fifth respectively it didn’t net her as many points.
Behind the top three is event three winner, Solveig Sigurdardottir, who after taking a bit of a hit on workout four is in a dangerous pattern of good workout-bad workout-good workout-bad workout. She’ll look to tighten things up tomorrow and leave no doubt about her Games spot.
Occupying the fifth spot is relative unknown Elisa Fuliano of Italy, who is giving us deja vu vibes of Enrico Zenoni from week one in Amsterdam. She has no previous live competition experience in a CrossFit Games season, but made a significant jump from the 2021 European Quarterfinals when she placed 125th, to this year in which she finished 34th. Her best event was on the row/burpee box jumps overs/ and snatches, so perhaps the final event is a decent one for her tomorrow and she’ll be able to do what Zenoni did, make a surprise rookie appearance out of Italy.
To do so she’ll have to fend off a pair of past Games champions in Katrin Davidsdottir and Sam Briggs, along with two other Games hopefuls from the UK in Tayla Howe and Aimee Cringle. All four women are within 44 points of Fuliano, and we know how quickly things can change in one event, let alone the two that are remaining.
Teams
Norway, Norway, Norway… we mentioned three top teams from Norway doing well on Day 1, but now those teams find themselves in the top three spots overall with one day of competition to go.
- CrossFit Oslo Navy Blue continues to not just win workouts, but to do so in dominating convincing fashion. Much like the teams they’ll be competing against in Madison for a podium spot this summer, this is more of a tune up than a competition.
- CrossFit Sarpsborg put another good day together to remain in second place overall. Their worst finish so far has been 8th place on the lift, but a 4th in event four suggests the teamwork is dialed in as they are well on their way to the CrossFit Games.
- CrossFit Trondheim moved up from fourth to third with a seventh on the lift and a very impressive second on event 4.
- Don’t forget, one Norwegian team already qualified from Lowlands in week one of Semis, for one country to send four of ten teams from Europe would be quite the feat.
While there are a trio of Norwegian teams at the top, there’s a trio of teams from the UK in the four through six spots. It’s currently CrossFit 8020 and CrossFit Mayflower who are in a qualifying position, while CrossFit Aylesbury Team Tap is on the outside looking in by only five points.
Nordic Original and Butcher’s Lab are also within striking distance, setting up a dramatic final day for those five teams who will battle for the last two Games positions.
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